More Chances to See the Yo-Yo Dude!

Cody Cassiday, local Yo-Yo Trickster, will be coming back to visit our stores.  Stop by and say hello!

Friday, July 2:
Once Upon a Toy in Edwardsville, IL
4pm - 9pm

Saturday, July 3rd:
LagoonaMagoo Toys in Fairview Heights, IL
11am - 2pm

Friday, July 9th:
LagoonaMagoo Toys at the St. Louis Mills Mall
4pm - 9pm

Here's another video of Cody, after working on his yo-yo skills for 6 months:

Reminder! Two more parties to go!

We had a great time with the kids (and their grown-ups) who came to our first Japanese Eraser & Shaped Band trading party at Once Upon a Toy in Edwardsville. Thanks to everyone who came and made it a fun evening!

Pirate Chicken Says:  Silly Bands Rock!

Japanese Erasers as far as the eye can see!

Trade?

Tough to choose!

Come be a star with your Shaped/Silly Bands collection!

Our next party is at 6:30 on Thursday, June 24 at LagoonaMagoo Toys in Fairview Heights-- RSVP by calling the store: (618)628-9270

The last trading party will be at LagoonaMagoo Toys at the St. Louis Mills Mall on Thursday, July 1st. It's never to early to RSVP! (314) 227-5335

Hey Yo Yo Yo! We've got a Yo-Yo Guy coming to visit!

Check out Cody & his amazing yo-yo tricks!




Jaw-drop awesome, eh? And he's only been doing this for 2 years!
Here's the info on when he'll be performing, chatting, and being an all-around nice guy with an uncanny ability with a Yo-yo:

Once Upon a Toy in Edwardsville, IL
Saturday June 19, from 11am - 2pm

LagoonaMagoo Toys at St. Louis Mills Mall
Saturday June 26, from 11am - 2pm

See you there!

Come to the Party!

If you haven't heard yet, the dates for our trading parties are set!  All parties start at 6:30pm and last until 8pm. For more information or to RSVP (appreciated, but not required), just call your favorite Happy Up store!

June 17:
Once Upon a Toy in Edwardsville, IL
(618) 656-9596

June 24:
LagoonaMagoo Toys in Fairview Heights, IL
(618) 628-9270

July 1:
LagoonaMagoo Toys at the St. Louis Mills Mall, MO
(314) 227-5335

Email invites went out on Friday. Did you get yours? What? You aren't on our email list? It's easy to subscribe using the box in the sidebar. hint hint. If you're interested to see the email, you can find it here: It's a Party at Once Upon a Toy and LagoonaMagoo Toys!

Jaelyn Jamik, the St. Louis Children's Recreation Examiner gave Silly Bandz & Japanese Erasers (and our parties!) a nice little write up. You can read her article here: Silly Bandz and Iwako Japanese Erasers are all the rage: Kids, wanna trade?

So we'll see you at one of the parties, right?

Gettin' Silly with the Silly Bandz!

Also called Shaped Bands, Shaped Bracelet Bands, and Silly Bands (note:  no "Z"), these colorful bits of silicone are soft, durable, and retain their shapes.  This is a collecting trend just starting to sweep the country.  Popular on the east coast and in the southern states for more than a year, Silly Bandz are just now catching the interest of midwest trendsetters.  And once they get started, kids are taking their collections very seriously.  So what are they exactly?  Think rubber bands--  only not as stretchy.  Think plastic jelly bracelets, only not boringly round!  Add bright colors and shapes that appeal to youngsters, and suddenly you have instant coolness on kid-wrists all across the country.  Because they're inexpensive and sold in packs of 12 or more, they're an easy collection to start.  And to store.  The bands encompass a wide variety of shapes from wild animals to vehicles to sheriff badges to sports figures.  Some kids are collecting based on their interests.  Others are staying focused on "rare" or unusual shapes.  And some are just going for quantity--  the more the merrier!

Some school districts are being forced to take them seriously, too--  turns out the shaped bands are so distracting they've been banned in some school districts.  Thankfully, we're all on summer break so no worries about getting teachers and principals all in a twist about these.  However, there are concerns about kids wearing bands that are too tight for their wrists and cutting off circulation.  While this isn't a serious concern if the kiddo is only wearing them for a short period of time,  we do hear of kids who refuse to take them off--  which could create a problem.  So grown-ups?  Check to make sure the bands aren't restricting blood flow.

And just for giggles?  Check out this ultra-silly gangsta rap about Silly Bandz!



Collecting the bands already? Have gobs to show off? Duplicates to trade? Watch this space for our announcement of our Silly Bandz & Japanese Eraser Trading Parties! We'll also be sending out an email invite, so make sure you're on our email list!

Japanese Erasers: Collectible? Yep. Inexpensive? Yep. Crazy Cool? You Betcha!

What is adorable, collectible, and incredibly small?  Japanese Erasers!  These amazingly detailed miniatures are the latest collectible craze.  From food items that look good enough to eat (please don't!) to animals so cute you can hardly resist cuddling them, these erasers are capturing the attention of children and adults around the globe.  Many of the erasers can be customized by taking them apart and swapping pieces with others of the same style.  This is one case where a picture is worth a thousand words--

In fact, instead of reading my babble, spend some time feasting your eyes on these fabulous little gems:

Cakes - Fast Food Meal - Bowling

Basketballs - Cherries - Horses

Made in Japan, these erasers are non-toxic--  they're lead-free, pvc-free, latex-free, and phthalate-free.  They're also packaged using recyled materials.  Yep, that's your recycled post-consumer paper-products at work!  And unlike many of the collectible trends out there, japanese erasers are also incredibly easy on the wallet.

To see a poster of all the styles available, Click Here.

If you want to see and learn more about the erasers, visit the manufacturer's website at  www.iwakousa.com

Watch your email boxes for an invitation to our first ever Eraser and Shaped Rubber Band Trading Parties!  If you're not on our email list yet, now is a great time to subscribe.  Just use the handy box in the sidebar. 

ps:  watch your favorite Happy Up store for stickers designed to match the erasers!  Hamster cuteness overload! 

pps:  Blog post about Shaped Rubber Bands coming soon!